In my last review, I complained that it was hard to think of a genre I’ve never read. I feel like few things better illustrate the fact that I read widely than the fact that the next book I finished after that Light Novel was a memoir about generational trauma, punk music, and bad relationship decisions set right here in Washington.
Red Paint by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe is not an easy read. It deals with trauma specific to indigenous people, to those assigned female at birth, and some that we might all have to deal with at some point in our lives. But the thing is, while I have strong opinions about certain things that happen in the book, I don’t have a strong opinion about the book itself.
My strongest reaction to this book was when LaPointe is in a writing program and her teacher makes the entire class write essays about the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to them. Which they then need to read in front of class. I’m not sure there are words strong enough to say how emphatically I am against this whole concept, for so many reasons. I don’t believe that trauma is an appropriate subject for school assignments, whether for minors or adults. I don’t believe a person should have to share their trauma with the entire class. I don’t believe students should have to spend their class time hearing about each other’s trauma. I don’t believe teachers are properly equipped to make sure students aren’t re-traumatizing themselves or each other.
LaPointe writes about the sexual assault she experienced as a teenager, and her teacher encourages her to dig deeper and do more extensive writing on her trauma.
It seems pretty likely that LaPointe already had some degree of PTSD from her first assault and subsequent assaults, but miring herself in her own trauma and the trauma of her female ancestors leads to more severe symptoms, which she has to deal with throughout the book.
This ends up having a huge impact on her relationship with her boyfriend-fiance-husband, and to be honest I felt like the relationship aspect of the book was the weakest part. I hate to say that a real person’s life is cliche, but this romance was a slow-moving trainwreck that I could see coming from a mile away.
I’m not a big memoir reader, I have to admit. I found the parts about LaPointe’s ancestors much more interesting; maybe because from a distance, we only get the major events of their lives, and not the small arguments that slowly destroy a relationship.
The recording quality of this audiobook was a little lower than I’m used to. I really enjoyed getting to hear the bits of Lushotseed read aloud, since I’m not familiar with the pronunciation, and I think hearing a work in an author’s own voice often adds an extra dimension to it. But I did notice that sometimes the volume or quality of the sound would change from chapter to chapter, and at times the author’s inhales were way too audible in her pauses (I have misophonia; if you don’t, you may not even notice this).
This wasn’t a particularly long book and I do think LaPointe is an excellent writer from a craft perspective, so if any of its themes resonate with you, it’s probably worth reading.
CWs and TWs: The sexual assaults in this book aren’t described in graphic detail, but they are referred back to often, and most if not all were experienced when the author was a minor. There’s panic attacks, other PTSD symptoms, and asthma attacks described from the author’s POV. There’s an extensive and graphic pregnancy loss. Ableism, racism, and misogyny. Discussion of alcoholism, homelessness, death of family members, smallpox, domestic violence… There may be a few other things I’m forgetting.
Format and Source: I read this as an audiobook from Pierce County Library System.
Book Bingo Prompts
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): For Punks of All Kinds. Not gonna lie, I figured I’d end up with something steampunk or cyberpunk for this, but LaPointe is an actual punk, going to shows, making zines, and dreaming of being in a band. I honestly wished there had been more about the Seattle/Tacoma punk scene in this book.
Brick & Mortar: PNBA Award Winner. Red Paint won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award in 2023.
Current Bingo Challenge Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 5 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 2 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.
Brick & Mortar: 10 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.